On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced plans to put Trump’s Executive Order on immigration into policy. As Quita covered yesterday, these plans will have devastating consequences for undocumented people and their loved ones by expanding the deportation machine President Obama built for Trump. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been directed to target undocumented people convicted of any crime, expedite their removal, and hire a task force of 10,000+ new agents to get the job done.

In addition, ICE has been directed to expand the system of immigrant detention centers, institutions plaguedwithreports of abuse and unsafe conditions, which activists had been successfully fighting under Obama. One of the most absurd rules which immigrant rights groups challenged was the mandatory minimum bed mandate, which required that ICE maintain a certain number of beds in detention at all times. (The National Immigrant Justice Center points out that ICE is the only law enforcement agency subject to a statutory quota on the number of individuals to hold in detention.) Under President Obama the mandate was 34,000 beds each day, but Trump has more than doubled that number to 80,000.

Asking ICE to double its capacity for detaining people is a tall–and dangerous–order. Migration from Central America continues as people flee horrific violence (violence with roots in U.S. foreign intervention) and more and more, the people arriving at our border are women and children. Trump now plans to arrest and detain these people at rates even higher than Obama, putting them into a system that has been known for holding trans detainees in solitary confinement, providing absolutely abysmal healthcare to people who are struggling with physical and mental traumas, and even allowing for the sexual abuse of detainees.

If ICE was incapable of safely holding detainees before, asking them to double their capacity immediately is sure to worsen conditions for people being held under their care. This announcement is horrifying for undocumented people and asylum-seekers, and devastating for activists who have pushed for so long to end this inhumane practice.

Bay Area, California

Juliana is a digital storyteller for social change. As a writer at Feministing since 2013, her work has focused on women's movements throughout the Americas for environmental justice, immigrant rights, and reproductive justice. In addition to her writing, Juliana is a Senior Campaigner at Change.org, where she works to close the gap between the powerful and everyone else by supporting people from across the country to launch, escalate and win their campaigns for justice.

Juliana is a Latina feminist writer and campaigner based in the Bay Area.

Congress has until midnight today to pass a spending bill, or shutdown the government again. Immigration is at the center of the debate.

It’s been less than three weeks since the last shutdown — a three-day closing that ended after Democrats caved in to Senate Republicans’ promise to consider legislation to protect Dreamers, or recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The Trump Administration rescinded the program for undocumented youth in September, giving Congress until March 5 to come up with a permanent legislative fix. These “fixes,” of course, are unlikely, leaving nearly 700,000 of immigrant youth — along with millions of undocumented immigrants — increasingly vulnerable to state violence, detention, and deportation.

Congress has until midnight today to pass a spending bill, or shutdown the government again. Immigration is at the center of the debate.

In the past month, at least four prominent undocumented immigrant activists and community leaders have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The timing of these arrests is no coincidence: this is a strategic and retaliatory move by the Trump administration meant to silence movement leaders and dissuade others from engaging in political work.

In the past month, at least four prominent undocumented immigrant activists and community leaders have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The timing of these arrests is no coincidence: this is a strategic and retaliatory move ...

The holidays are a difficult time for immigrants. Separated from our families by borders and restrictive immigration policies, we are reminded of all the memories and moments we’re missing out on: the parties, presents, and posadas that continue in our absence.

This year, many families are fighting deportations and celebrating their last Christmas together. Others of us are spending the holidays with our families the only way we can: with calling cards, through Facetime, and by imagining that next year we’ll be together again. For mothers at Berks County Family Detention Center, a prison for migrant families outside of ...

The holidays are a difficult time for immigrants. Separated from our families by borders and restrictive immigration policies, we are reminded of all the memories and moments we’re missing out on: the parties, presents, and ...

Search

We need your help!

Get Our Newsletter

New posts and Feministing news delivered to your inbox weekly!

Want to write for us?

All Feministing posts are written by the site’s collective of regular columnists and editors. Though we don’t currently accept guest submissions, we have an open platform Community site to which anyone can contribute. We often promote our favorite Community posts on the main site. And Community bloggers who consistently impress us may to be invited to become regular Feministing columnists..